Fate Has Dealt Her Cards
by if-you-have-a-minute
Summary: Finn and Rachel have broken up. Finn wants her to move on but Lady Fate steps in to push them back together.
1. Thoughts, and Lots of Them

_He had already left twice. He had played with her heart and she promised never to let it happen again. She would fall asleep so sure of herself and then wake up in the morning and see the pictures and trinkets in the box labeled "Burn". She removed all the things and replaced them in their rightful places around her room. This happened every night._

Rachel Berry had felt the pain of heartbreak too many times for a seventeen year old. She could no longer count on her two hands how many times someone had walked out on her. The first time she had been hurt was when Finn had kissed her, so long ago, on the stage sophomore year. Rachel had set up a picnic on stage so Finn and she could have a drink or two after practicing for glee club. She had spent days planning it all out; what she would say, how he might react. Everything had gone perfectly to plan, until after Finn kissed Rachel, he left, asking her to not tell anyone about the whole thing. Rachel had forgiven Finn and eventually, after the whole Quinn-baby debacle, they went out. Finn soon came to the realization that he just wasn't ready to date Rachel, so he broke up with her. Then, after Jesse, Rachel let herself get caught up in Finn's life once again, promising to herself that this time would be different. Of course it wasn't, Finn dumped Rachel again, right before Christmas of her junior year. Rachel was sick of the heartbreak, sick of singing about her pain when no one would listen. After Christmas, she vowed to protect her heart; to focus more on getting through high school and onto her future without the drama that came with a boyfriend. Maybe she would find someone in New York, someone who could understand her, who she could be with and not worry about abandonment or betrayal.

Her plans didn't turn out too well.

* * *

><p><em>She was a beautiful girl, destined to become one of the most famous actresses of her time. He wanted to be what she needed, the one to hold her when she fell. But he knew that he couldn't be the one to do that. The reason he broke up with her was because he knew that he would never be able to provide for her or be a good father to her children. He thought he would never be a good husband or be able to follow her where ever her dreams took her. But he just couldn't ignore that gnawing feeling in the back of his head that told him, maybe they were meant to be together.<em>

Finn Hudson could remember everyday with Rachel. He could replay them in his memories and wish for her to be there, with him, right then. But then he would open his eyes and see the empty seat next to him, where she used to perch and eagerly listen to Mr. Schuster. When Finn was dating Rachel he would think about the future. It was pretty far-fetched to think about marrying this girl already. Finn had grown up thinking that high school flames burned out pretty quickly and that he would meet "the one" in college or maybe when his career picked up. This was before he had met Rachel Berry. She was so sweet and kind to him. She had never said things she didn't mean, she wouldn't play with his thoughts the way Finn's other ex-girlfriends had done. He would get caught up in the future of him and Rachel and then get slapped back to real life with the fact that that was all fantasy, that was all it ever could be. Rachel needed someone strong, in tune with his emotions, and not afraid to be himself. Finn thought he was none of these things. Right before Christmas, when Rachel had admitted to kissing Puck during one of their relationship breaks, Finn thought it would be the perfect excuse for her to get over him, to find the real boy she needed. He had looked into her eyes and had seen her break with every word he had said, the day Finn broke up with her. It tore Finn to pieces.

Finn wanted to be with Rachel the rest of his life, but he knew she would never, could never, be happy with him. So he resorted to the only thing he could think of. He broke her heart so she would never be able to forgive him, and be able to move on with her beautiful life.

But Finn couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous girl he used to call his whenever she sang in glee club or when she walked past him in the hallway. He couldn't help the hope that he had in his heart; the hope that she could forgive him, and they could be together.

* * *

><p>"This sounds like something from Twilight." Blaine Anderson said, cuddled into Rachel's bed pillows as she paced the room.<p>

"Do not compare my love life to a fictional story." She replied, stopping in her tracks to glare at her friend.

Blaine and Rachel had grown close after the past couple of weeks. He was someone that could keep up with Rachel's ambition and understand her feeling for her future. Rachel had never thought of him in the romantic sort of way, though. Kurt Hummel was Rachel's good friend and he was so obviously in love with Blaine, and she supported the couple. She thought that they were perfect for each other.

"I'm sorry; it's just that it sounds a lot like something Edward Cullen would do." Blaine shrugged and resumed flipping through Rachel's Play Bill collection.

Rachel sighed and got lost in her thoughts. How could Finn do this to her again? Did he honestly think that it would be that easy for Rachel to give up and move on with her life? Rachel had been distraught for days after Sectionals, when Finn had told her that he couldn't see her anymore. She had lost all hope and had promised herself that she would never let her heart get hurt ever again, but that turned out to be harder than it looked. She would start thinking about Finn and wish she had the strength to confront him about what he did.

"And besides, there are plenty of fish in the sea. You'll find someone who can take commitment and that can keep up with your hopes and dreams." Rachel turned to look at Blaine as he said that. She sure hoped there was someone out there like that for her.

"Yes, but how do I meet him? How do I know…. UCK. No. I told you that I want to protect myself. I have to focus on my career. Me first, boys last."

"OK, whatever you say! I'm gonna head out, Kurt's picking me up to go see the new Mamma Mia exhibit at the history museum. Toodles!" And with that, Blaine gathered his bag and gave Rachel a quick squeeze. Then he skipped to the front door and left.

Rachel was alone with her thoughts once again. The only immediate solution to her problems was to throw herself into her next glee project. The theme was self-acceptance. This was easy for people who were obviously different, like Kurt or Artie. They had come to terms with who they were and what they could accomplish. Rachel on the other hand, was, for the most part, normal. Sure, she was incredibly ambitious and a tad loud mouthed but other than that, she was just another student at McKinley. She had never been pregnant or experimented with her sexuality, she had never lost a limb or had a fatal disease. The only reason people made fun of her was because she belonged to glee club. Rachel was stumped. She used to be able to find the perfect songs to describe her feelings. Her feelings were mostly about Finn, but she was not about to sing about him again.

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

* * *

><p>It was now the week after Christmas break and about three weeks since New Directions' win at Sectionals. Students at McKinley were not very excited to be back at school, especially Finn. School meant having to see the girl he hurt, and know that he could never repair the damages.<p>

It was Thursday, so that meant glee club met after school. Finn had initially been very confused about that week's theme, which was self-acceptance. Being in glee club and maintaining his popularity had made Finn a perfect target for peer pressure. He knew that he loved both things very much. He had begun to understand that, despite physical and emotional beatings by the rest of the football team, he was proud of himself. But unfortunately no artist had recently released a song about juggling glee club, sports, and popularity.

Finn had searched through all the songs on iTunes, eventually finding a song by a rather obscure artist that was perfect for his situation. So, after Kurt sang his version of Aladdin's "Proud of Your Boy", Finn raised his hand to sing next.

"C'mon down, Finn!" Mr. Schu waved Finn down from his choir chair to the front of the room. Finn handed the pianist the music and started to sing.

"_It starts with not questioning the answers_

_And giving up before you've begun_

_It locks all the doors,_

_Increases the pressure, and in a flash_

_Your time is up before it's done_

_And you won't know _

_How it can feel_

_To feel at all_

Finn could feel the glee club's eyes on him. He was looking down at his music, but he could see Rachel shift uncomfortably in her seat.

_I'll kick down the walls around me_

_They don't know how strong I am_

_I'm defined by boundaries_

_They could never understand_

_I'm so much more_

_Than status quo_

_Forget about being another pipe dreamer_

_Stuck on the bottom floor_

_And I know it's time to go_

_So maybe I've gotten everything that I wanted_

_But I think that I might have made it so_

_When I said no no no to status quo._

Finn concluded the song and returned to his seat with his fellow glee member's applause. He felt good about singing about something other than what was truly on his mind; the girl in the sweater who raised her hand next.

* * *

><p><strong>Song: Status Quo by The Cast of Starship, written by Darren Criss<strong>


	2. Plenty of Fish in the Sea

After her song, Rachel scampered back to her seat. She had done a generic feel-good song that was, at the most, eight stars. Rachel just wasn't feeling herself that day and she didn't know why. Usually Thursdays were the best days of the week because it meant glee club and seeing all of her friends again. Rachel had thought about what Blaine had said about there being more fish in the sea, so Rachel had evaluated several possible candidates for her own romantic needs. Her journal was now half-way filled with small summaries of every guy in her classes. Every time Rachel wrote down a new name, she got this sinking feeling that she would never find a man up to her standards. The closest prospect was Sam Evans, from glee club. He had a great voice and was up to standing against adversity. But, he was with Quinn, and Rachel didn't feel up to fighting with her once again.

When Finn had sang his song, Rachel forgot all about a journal full of cute guys.

She focused on the boy at the front of the choir room, staring at his music and shaking like an uneven washing machine.

She didn't want to feel something for this guy but it was hard not to. His song was perfect for his voice and what his situation was. Rachel admired him for being so brave, for putting up with all the bullying on the football team, for standing up for kids who would get picked on. But, Rachel did remember the bad parts. The parts where he had stared her in the face and had killed her self-control, her meaning to live. No, she couldn't forgive him, didn't want to forgive him!

"Very nice, Rachel! Now who's next?" Rachel was knocked out of her reverie by Mr. Schuster's booming voice. As Rachel's thoughts calmed down to a dull roar, the rest of the glee club sang their songs about self-acceptance.

After Mercedes' belt-heavy song had finished, the final bell had rung, just in time for Rachel to escape the world that was McKinley.

Rachel couldn't get caught up in the past anymore. She couldn't face all of the pain that was Lima, Ohio.

She needed change.

* * *

><p>After glee club, Finn made his way to the weight room. He wanted to give up his thoughts and just punch something, hard. He wanted the pain to go away in his head and he would replace it with a harsh workout.<p>

"Hey, dude." Puck was already on the bench press at the back of the room when Finn walked in.

"Hey, Puckerman." Finn dropped his gym bag next to him and started to do some pull-ups.

"That was a good song you did for glee today. I didn't think you had it in you." Puck stopped what he was doing to sit up and look at Finn. Finn thanked him quietly and resumed the pull-ups.

"But I don't really think it's what you wanted to sing," Puck explained, "We can all see that you still have feelings for Rachel. Why did you even break up with her?"

"Just drop it, okay?"

"No, I'm not giving up that easily, Hudson. You broke up with her, just because I'm irresistible? I mean, c'mon. You seemed so happy with her. Why'd you stop it?"

"I don't deserve her. She needs someone who can provide for her, and I can't do that."

"Finn. We are juniors in high school. The biggest thing we need to be worrying about is winning football games and impressing college girls, not getting married or anything like that. Live in the now, bro."

"Wow, that was deep. Even for you." The two boys laughed and returned to working on their bodies. They remained silent for the rest of the time until Finn left for home.

On the drive home, Finn thought about what Puck had said. There were plenty more fruitful years for Finn ahead of him, and he couldn't waste them worrying.

* * *

><p>Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel were going to Lima Mall that afternoon. Rachel was excited to have a little girl time. Despite her more recent mistakes, Rachel thought this might <em>actually<em> take her mind off of Finn.

Trying on dresses at Macy's and getting free make-up samples at MAC was great fun. The three girls loved having time to themselves, no boyfriends and no worries. They were sitting in the food court splitting a bucket of fries and a couple milkshakes when Tina spoke.

"You know, I think Mike might be thinking about leaving me."

"Woah, what makes you think that?" Mercedes asked. Both Mercedes and Rachel were stunned at this statement. Tina and Mike had being going very strong the past couple of weeks. They looked so absorbed in each other, like nothing could ruin their relationship.

"Well, it's just that he's been spending an awful lot of time with his dance group. He's the only guy in it and I know for a fact that all of the girls try to hit on him. He's been very distant lately and I can't figure out why."

"Maybe he's planning something special for you and wants to keep it a surprise!" Rachel offered.

Tina shrugged and drank the last of her strawberry milkshake.

"Tina, don't worry about it. Mike is a very loyal guy and even if he does break up with you, there are plenty of guys left at McKinley! You've got your whole life ahead of you; don't waste it worrying about something that might not even happen." Mercedes smiled at her words of wisdom. Tina seemed to understand Mercedes' words and replied with a big bear hug.

"You're right. I don't need a man to make me happy! I am a woman hear me ROAR!" Tina slammed her fists on the table, causing Rachel's drink to almost fall off. The three girls smiled at each other and returned to gossiping about Santana's boob job.

Later that evening Rachel laid down on the couch in her living room and turned on some mindless sitcom. Her thoughts returned to what Mercedes had said to Tina about her boy problems. She realized that they closely resembled her own issues. Rachel thought that if Tina could get over it, so could she.

After dinner with her dads, Rachel climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She opened her diary and began to write.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today I had a revelation. My Finn issues aren't that big of a deal! If I dwindle on the past I will never be able to have the great life I deserve. I've made so much progress! I can finally get through the entire movie Remember the Titans without thinking about Finn in his football uniform and how he cried at the end of the movie. Oh shoot, I remembered! Well, I am really looking forward to tomorrow because in Spanish I give my oral report and I'm not even going to LOOK in his direction! He'll realize that I am my own person and he cannot control me any longer! I'M SO PUMPED I CAN HARDLY STAND IT! I must now get my full nine hours of beauty sleep! Night!_

_Love, Rachel_

Rachel closed the notebook and smiled. She was proud of herself, there was no denying it. She could get through this without falling back into his arms. She was a powerful person and she had ambition, something Finn never had.


	3. Hook, Line, and Sinker

It was finally Friday, and the students at McKinley were getting antsy. Finn Hudson had Spanish seventh period, the last period of the day. When he sat in his assigned seat, a feeling of happiness drenched over him. His mother, Carole, and his stepdad, Burt, were taking Finn and Kurt to Burt's ice fishing cabin for the weekend.

Kurt was not the slightest bit excited. He had planned on spending the weekend with Blaine but Burt had put the kibosh on that as soon as he found out.

Finn on the other hand, was incredibly excited. It was nice to have a guy around the house again. Finn needed someone to go to baseball games with and fish with.

Also it was phase one of his plan to move on from Rachel.

Friday was the day of Spanish oral reports. Every student had been assigned a current event topic to study and give a one-paragraph-long report on. Mr. Schuster had taken volunteers yesterday, and Finn wanted it to be over with so he had gone first. Rachel had volunteered to go first on Friday. Finn was scared. He was scared that his plans would be ruined. He wanted to get over her, but if Rachel so much as blinked at Finn, he would be crawling back to her, telling her that he made a huge mistake. She walked up to the front of the classroom, dressed in a white sweater and a skirt that had little sombreros embroidered all over it. _That is so adorable,_ Finn thought. He quickly realized what he had just thought and tried to shake it out of his head.

She started to talk in choppy Spanish; though the language was poorly spoken Rachel did look very confident. She had great eye contact with everyone in the room, except Finn. He noticed that she would look at everyone, with great positivity, when she came to Finn, she didn't even glance in his direction. Finn was hurt, although he didn't understand why.

Once she was done she walked back to her seat, while the other students clapped. Finn decided to clear his mind and focus on what he would be doing that weekend.

He got lost in thought about what types of fish were in Burt's lake, little did he know that someone else in the room was also getting lost in thought.

* * *

><p>After Rachel had seen <em>The Lake House, <em>she was convinced that her family needed a cabin, a rugged, forest-y retreat. Her dads had finally given in this past summer and bought a cabin closer to the Ohio-Indiana border. They were all going there for the weekend to clean up after their holiday party they had for the neighbors who lived in the area year-round. Rachel's family was Jewish but they still liked to have a civilized party now and then.

After her successful oral report, Rachel sat back in her seat and started planning what they needed to get done over the weekend. She would have to personally resort the record collection that got cluttered when a certain drunken neighbor decided to take a bath in her old vinyl stacks. Her dads would handle the half-drank cups of wine in the living area… Her thoughts went on and on until the final bell rang, telling her to grab her backpack and get out of school for the fun weekend ahead.

In the car to the cabin, Rachel insisted on listening to the Wicked Limited Edition Soundtrack she had gotten as a birthday gift from Kurt this past year. Nobody protested and Rachel reclined the back seat as far as it would go. She loved getting out of Lima and getting away from reality. Her cabin was the place where their only care was whether or not the record player was properly, or whether they could listen to their musical from the kitchen.

As soon as they pulled into the iced-over-gravel driveway, Rachel jumped out in her deep brown parka. All of their neighbors were out setting up their own ice houses, so it was very quiet. The neighbors to the left of the Berry's had never been at their cabin when they were. This time, though, there was a familiar-looking red truck parked in the garage. Rachel could see through the windows into the very well decorated living room.

"C'mon Rachel, come help us!" Her dad was struggling with Rachel's suitcase. "How much stuff did you bring anyways? We're only staying a night!"

"It's all of the new organizing paraphernalia I bought at the mall the other day!" She explained reaching for her bag. Her dad rolled his eyes and went back for his and his husband's single bag of clothes.

Rachel unlocked the front door and was welcomed with the stench of old cheese. _Great, we forget to refrigerate the cheeses, _she dropped off her jacket on the nearest chair and ran to get the stinky cheese. She took it to the garbage can in the garage, which faced the neighbors-to-left's back porch. As she slammed the lid down, Rachel heard a familiar voice.

"I'm just saying that the last thing I wanted to do this weekend was hanging around a frigid old house with no television and no internet! Blaine and I were going to go cross country skiing!"

Rachel was frozen with horror. Hearing Kurt's voice next door could only mean one thing: Finn Hudson also lived next door.

Just when she was trying to get away from him, just when she was beginning to relax and get a grip on the things she really needed to care about, Finn just burst her bubble. Of course he was her neighbor, of course he would be here this weekend, of course her life was ruined. She was sure that someone was out to get her. Rachel's horoscope had said nothing about ex-boyfriends showing up at the worst possible moment.

When she finally got to her senses, Rachel went back into her lake house and sat at the table in the kitchen. She had to make a plan of action. She didn't want Finn to notice her, but at the same time she knew that she had the right to be here as much as he did.

She decided that if she stayed inside as much as possible, she could avoid an encounter with Finn. And if worse came to worst, Rachel would just have to say at least "Hi". She didn't want o be stuck up. They had been boyfriend and girlfriend before, after all. It wasn't like they could hide from that fact.

* * *

><p>Kurt was starting to really get on Finn's nerves. His complaining was getting old, quick. Who cared if Kurt had bought a new skiing outfit for his weekend with Blaine? Finn certainly didn't. By the time Burt had all of the fishing gear ready in the shack out on the frozen lake, Finn was about to pull his hair out because of Kurt's constant chatter.<p>

"Let's go, Finn!" Was all Burt had to say for Finn to jump up and run out the door.

When Finn opened the door of the shack, he let out an audible gasp that he passed off for a manlier cough. The shack was amazing! It didn't look like much from the outside but on the inside were posters of every football team known to man. It had lava lamps, comfy chairs and about twenty different types of fishing rods. There were posters of the types of native fish as well as a heavily-stocked fridge which contained all of the bait a fisherman could dream of.

"Wow, Burt! This place is awesome!"

"Thanks, it's my little hide-away from the cabin. Kurt got to decorate that and I got to decorate this."

"It's very well done. I must say, I didn't think you had it in you, Burt" Finn said to his stepdad with a smile.

"Aww, don't say that." Burt replied, almost blushing.

The two guys got right to work on hooking up everything to the little hole in the floor, where clear water showed plenty of fish practically begging to be picked up.

Burt and Finn had plenty of fun and caught enough fish for the entire neighborhood. When it had gotten dark, Carole knocked on the door.

"Time for dinner! We'll have your fish tomorrow before we head out, okay?"

Burt and Finn nodded and let go the fish that weren't worth bringing back to Lima. On their way out, Finn looked around the ice house one more time, so he could remember it when he was back at home. All three of them started walking on the wooden path across the frozen lake. Wrapped in his new jacket that his mother had helped pick out, Finn felt toasty warm. That is, until a sharp, cold feeling flew up his spine. He had looked up to the cabin, and had glanced at the neighbors-to-the-right's back porch. He could barely see through the fog that was his breath in the cold, but he could see through their windows.

He could barely make out a very familiar, brunette girl in a reindeer sweater and gray tights.

Finn's heart sunk.


	4. You Can't Choose Your Neighbors

**Sorry for the long time in between chapters! Life has kind of gotten in the way :) But I love writing and so here's the next chapter! Reviews as well as constructive criticisms are very welcome!**

* * *

><p>After Rachel had finished clearing the table after dinner, she relaxed on the recliner in the living room. Nothing else was on TV, so Rachel settled for a Gilmore Girls re-run. Her thoughts drifted away from the show and started on glee club. Mr. Schuster had given them their theme for the next week. It was "lessons learned". They had to sing a song that gave, sort of, a moral at the end. Rachel thought this was ridiculous; she thought that they should be preparing for Regionals. Kurt had given hints as to what the Warblers would be singing, and Rachel was worried that New Directions wouldn't be able to beat them. Rachel had told Mr. Schue about this but he just nodded and insisted that she stop worrying and start thinking about something else for a change.<p>

_This week will be totally different than last week, _Rachel thought. She was determined to do a great song, one that would show the glee club that Rachel Berry wasn't about to let anybody get her down. Though to do that, Rachel needed a song that could pack that punch she wanted to hit the group with.

At that moment, the ending music to Gilmore Girls caught Rachel off-guard. She wondered how long she had been sitting like that, staring blankly at the TV screen. Her parents had gone to bed a while ago, so she was all alone in the dark cabin living room. A little creeped out, Rachel cuddled into a nearby blanket and flipped the channel. She found a Disney movie that was just at the opening credits and Rachel decided to pay attention.

It was Hercules, Rachel could tell by the opening scene. Rachel loved Disney movies; she adored the way that love could survive anything in the imaginary worlds of the characters. When she was younger, Rachel was like any other girl, she had wanted to be one of the gorgeous and flawless Disney Princesses like Belle or Cinderella. When her dance had done Sleeping Beauty in the third grade, Rachel insisted that she take the lead as Aurora, just so she could wear all of the pretty dresses that came with the character.

Rachel watched the entire movie, with a smile plastered to her face.

"Rachel, it's going on 11:30! Go to sleep!" Her father called from down the hall.

"Okay, I'm going!" Rachel sighed, uncovering herself from the warmth of the blanket. She was about to turn the television off when Megara started to sing "I Won't Say I'm In Love". Rachel stood, remote in hand, frozen for three minutes just listening to the song.

It was perfect for her.

Who knew that a song from such an unexpected place would come along, just as Rachel needed it. _I guess it's my lucky day!_ Rachel dreamed. She went to bed that night planning what exactly would happen on Thursday at glee club.

* * *

><p>Finn didn't usually go to bed early, especially on a Saturday. He would usually stay awake, playing Puck on a video game or on his computer reading funny quotes on websites like <em>Fail Blog.<em> But, that night, Finn didn't feel like doing anything but laying his head on his pillow and sleeping as soon as humanly possible.

He said goodnight to his family and went into his bedroom at the lake house. It had been Kurt's design room in a previous life, and there were still remnants of fabric patterns and stitching how-to guides stashed in corners of the furniture. Finn had tried to man it up when they first visited the house, but he couldn't hide from the cheetah print wallpaper on the east wall.

The bed looked especially comfortable to Finn that night and he jumped into it as soon as the door was closed. He didn't care to change into his pajama shirt and boxers. Who honestly cared if his jeans touched his bed spread? Kurt would have a fit if he saw this, but he was watching some house renovation show in the kitchen, while making a new dessert he and Blaine had found in one of their cookbooks at Blaine's house.

If he thought about it really hard, Finn was insanely jealous of Kurt and Blaine. They had something that could never be tampered with, something that was "created by Lady Destiny herself" according to Kurt. They didn't fight all too often, and there was no crazy drama to speak of. Finn wished that he could find someone who he could have that with. He wished he could have a relationship that was easy to do, one that came easily, that didn't seem forced. With Rachel, everything was simple, but there would always be an aching at the back of Finn's brain that said _It won't last, she'll get over you, she doesn't need you._ He knew it was true, unfortunately. Rachel had seemed so confident these past few days and it was just a confirmation that she had officially stopped thinking about silly, old Finn. It crushed him to see her move on, but he knew it was for the best.

Finn sighed, he needed something big that would take his thoughts permanently off of girls entirely for a little while. He was day dreaming things that he could do over the ever-approaching spring break that would distance him from Lima, Ohio as much as possible when he saw it. Finn had lost track of how late is was getting and realized that he had been sitting haphazardly in his bed for a little over an hour.

There was only one window in the room, and it faced the infamous house to the right which apparently belonged to the Berrys. Finn couldn't even get away from her in his so-called "happy place". Someone was out hurt Finn, and he was sure of it. There was no way that this could all be coincidence, but unfortunately it was.

Finn sat up and looked at the house that was less than fifty feet away from him. He saw a small light go on in the room closest to his own. All of the other lights in the house were out, except for that small one that appeared to be coming from a tiny lamp next to a white wicker bed. He could see shapes through the curtain that draped over his own window. He got up and pulled the curtain over. He could see perfectly now. He could see perfectly into Rachel Berry's room. He could tell that it was hers because of the musical posters on the opposite wall, posters of Fiddler on the Roof and Annie, two that Finn knew were particular favorites of Rachel's. She came out of the closet in her sweats. Finn recognized those pajamas, he had seen them during one of their many Skype conversations on late nights when they were dating.

Finn felt creepy. He knew that if Rachel caught him spying on her, that he would never be able to live it down. _He _was the one that had broken up with her, right? Finn quickly stopped watching his ex-girlfriend get ready for bed and closed his curtain, which Kurt had informed him was made of rich silk only found in Thailand.

_Yup, the world definitely hates me. _Finn realized that his cabin was officially the worst place to get over this girl. He couldn't try to forget someone that was literally next door.

Getting over her wasn't an option. Forgetting her wasn't an option. Moving to Mars just to get away from her wasn't an option, until the technology was built.

Finn wasn't about to start a whole new life. He couldn't pretend anymore. He needed Rachel in his life, however long she wanted him. He couldn't believe that it took himself that long to realize it.


End file.
